Trip Truck

big world - short life

Kitchen

The kitchen appliances were chosen in keeping with the project's over-riding theme of simplicity. The oven and Grill is a Spinflo Duplex unit and does just what it says on the tin. I avoided the complication of interior oven illumination and electronic ignition as I frankly don’t see the attraction. We had a Spinflo in one of our previous motorhomes and they just work. Fitting was straightforward with just one 8mm gas pipe to attach; the whole thing just sits in a custom made Vohringer carcass and is held in place by 4 easily accessed screws.

Refrigeration is taken care of by a Waeco 110 litre compressor unit that has a small separate freezer compartment. I have previously only ever had absorption fridges but was persuaded this time round by the simplicity of installation and maintenance of a simple compressor. I quite like absorption fridges for their versatility and quiet operation but they are fiendishly complicated, can be temperamental and don’t work if inclined more than a few degrees. All told not the most helpful negative features for extended remote travel. Fitting was a doddle once the Vohringer carcass was made to the right dimensions with only a positive and negative wire and sufficient ventilation to stress about. It is important to have a fairly heavy gauge wire as many compressor fridges refuse to work if subject to too-small, overly resistant, voltage dropping cables. For our run of 2 metres from the 24V battery bank I used 4mm² cross section cable. Dometic supply a chart indicating minimum gauge requirements. The fridge works well but is, to my admittedly sensitive ears, a bit too noisy when it operates during the night. Like all front-opening fridges it also loses a good deal of its hard-won cool each time the door is opened. A top-opening chest-style fridge would be something I'd look at in the future. You pays yer money...

The hob is a CAN marine unit and is simple and rugged. It has two burners which are manually ignited and it is supremely easy to clean. Installation, like the oven, involves just one 8mm compression gas pipe fitting and the unit simply drops into the worktop where it is retained by clear silicone sealer / adhesive. Keeping with the CAN theme, I also chose a sink from their range. This, like the hob, simply drops into the worktop and is held by clear silicone sealer. Though not that well known in motorhoming circles, their products seems good quality and have a functional simplicity. More conventional is the Smev draining board. I know it’s exuberant, but we wanted one. Drainage for this, and the sink, is via CAK’s supaflex hosing which is easy to work with and free-flowing.

The washroom presented many challenges. Right from the design phase this was always the space that was most heavily compromised. To get all the features we really wanted into the build something had to give and having carefully analysed our use - though agreeing nicely appointed and spacious washrooms are nice - concluded they are an inefficient a use of overall space. As long as there is decent room for a shower and a loo, and a warm air outlet to turn the space into a drying room, then everything else is, for us, dispensable: so everything else was dispensed.

The space we were left with was small but with careful planning we were even able to design in some storage space, and by using a slightly raised floor and under hung ceiling in the mini-toilet area, were able to run plumbing and wiring looms completely out of sight.

The main door to the room is one of Transport Window’s composite structures and was made using inner and outer 3mm materials that I supplied to match the rest of the build. This is a beefy but lightweight door and were it to be a straightforward interior door then sticking it in place with Sikaflex would have been the end of the matter. In this case though, the inner face of the door forms part of the shower cubicle and so I had to spend a great deal of time working out how to make the door itself waterproof - and also how to get all water splashed onto it to return harmlessly into the shower tray. It sounds like it should be easy but much messing with seals, drip guides, and drain holes has was required.

The washroom itself is made in the usual 15mm Vohringer board but with a waterproof 3mm polypropylene lining. Right from the start I had doubts about how to laminate the Vohringer and polypropylene and so did a few tests. The winner seemed to be good quality contact adhesive. No amount of reasonable pressure could separate the two materials when bonded in this way and so, sheets were laminated and then cut before being installed and left for a few weeks to make sure all was well. Throughout the cold of the winter, then an unseasonably warm spell in spring which was itself followed by a few more cold wet weeks, the materials stayed perfectly stable. It seemed all would be well so I got on with construction and effectively, by Sikaflexing the room together, got past the point of no return. Bad move!

A really hot couple of weeks in May effectively expanded the polypropylene beyond the capability if the contact adhesive and the panels started to separate. I was left with a tough decision and for a while contemplated scrapping the whole structure and starting again. Time and funds though dictated that it would be logical to first try for a simpler solution. I carefully removed a couple of mm from the edges of the more affected panels and then drilled dozens of holes through the polypropylene to allow a more unconstrained expansion. This worked a treat and the panels simply plopped back into place and re-stuck on the adhesive. To finish the job I used suitably sealed stainless steel screws and finished these with two-piece chrome covered caps. The finished job is now stable and even looks as if it was planned. I may though, still, at some point, dismantle this room and do it again if the knowledge I didn't design it that way ever irritates me enough.

To ensure the water from the shower doesn’t splash all over the toilet / towels / toiletries etc I built a swinging two-piece wall made of 6mm clear polycarbonate that is supported by stainless latching hinges sourced from Wixroyd. When travelling or showering the wall sections are held in the closed position by magnets. When parked up they stay in the open latched-hinge position which allows unfettered access to the toilet and storage. This works well and keeps the water where it should be without the need to battle with horribly clingy moisture-retaining shower curtains. The 6mm two piece design was actually design Mark II. Mark I was a one piece 5mm panel that I just couldn’t brace up enough to make viable; polycarbonate is surprisingly flexible! For all things polyproylene / polycarbonate and similar, The Plastic People is a first class operation. This company will cut just about anything with poly in its name to whatever spec. is desired.